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croatian getaway
May. 23rd, 2012 | 10:59 pm
trip to Croatia in July booked!!!
off to Zadar, Zagreb and Dubrovnik, trekking/hiking at Paklencia National Park and Plitvice Lakes National Park, day-trip to Mostar and ferry ride to the island of Lopud. excited about the scenic views awaiting me!!!!!!! :)))
....something like this
but i obviously won't be getting an aerial view lol. excited nonetheless :)
off to Zadar, Zagreb and Dubrovnik, trekking/hiking at Paklencia National Park and Plitvice Lakes National Park, day-trip to Mostar and ferry ride to the island of Lopud. excited about the scenic views awaiting me!!!!!!! :)))
....something like this
but i obviously won't be getting an aerial view lol. excited nonetheless :)
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(no subject)
May. 20th, 2012 | 07:16 pm
should i spend 8 days visiting latvia and st.petersburg in russia and induce all sorts of travel fatigue 4 days before departing to Africa for 2 weeks?
i've imagined for life to be so much more relaxed after exams, where i'll just sit and chill with a storybook (instead of a textbook) and train at my own leisurely pace without having the additional academic commitment. but now i'm just torn between spending 8 days in the super quiet town of loughborough doing stupid things like spring-cleaning 3 years worth of accumulated stuff and reflecting on my undergraduate life and how i should move on from it... or.... chionging through countries which i don't even have time to plan the itinerary properly for (although i've done a bit of research and that includes europe's largest waterfall in kulinga (latvia) and a romeo and juliet ballet in some famous theatre in st.petersburg).
RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
</edit>
the russian national tourist office just made my life so much easier... singaporeans need a visa to enter.... and it's £100.. out of budget for me!
i've imagined for life to be so much more relaxed after exams, where i'll just sit and chill with a storybook (instead of a textbook) and train at my own leisurely pace without having the additional academic commitment. but now i'm just torn between spending 8 days in the super quiet town of loughborough doing stupid things like spring-cleaning 3 years worth of accumulated stuff and reflecting on my undergraduate life and how i should move on from it... or.... chionging through countries which i don't even have time to plan the itinerary properly for (although i've done a bit of research and that includes europe's largest waterfall in kulinga (latvia) and a romeo and juliet ballet in some famous theatre in st.petersburg).
RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
</edit>
the russian national tourist office just made my life so much easier... singaporeans need a visa to enter.... and it's £100.. out of budget for me!
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there's always a first
May. 19th, 2012 | 09:27 pm
so had to draaaaaag myself out of bed at 6am today when it was nice and drizzly outside perfect for sleeping in to go for an open water swim practice at Syston (Watermead Country Park).
first lake swim ever and was looking forward to it because i absolutely hate the saltiness from the seawater from past experiences...which was in 2008's inter school aquathlon and those few days of training in mallorca.. was pre-warned that it would be dark and murky but i'd rather that than salty but clear water to be honest!
a small comfortable group from the tri club went - (4 girls only and about 12 guys).. i did a big loop (~ 1k) and a small loop (~500m) and another 2 'floating at imaginary start line' race-starts with Briony who was about my pace, so we had a buddy-system going on in that unfamiliar ground. it was all good but the water was a bit too cold (much colder than mallorca!) at 13.6 degrees. peeing in the wetsuit helps and that's a top tip i'd recommend (gross but it WORKS), and tip number 2 is to get slap some body glide (GET YOUR OWN) or loads of oil on to get your wet suit out easily. tip 2 was the reason why my bodyglide was used up today lol (no one brought except me and sam and the tube wasn't very big to begin with, hence.......). and tip number 3 is.. 2 swim caps is better than 1! but may cause tightness of the head...(make sure the top hate is bright enough to get spotted!). my personal tip number 4 is knowing what nutrition works for you. emerged from the water with head spinning like fuck and i eventually puked out my self-concocted mocha after the bumpy bus ride worsened my motion sickness. EWWWWWW.
anyway so yes.. happy with open water swimming... sighting was pretty accurate other than a few blips where i lost my concentration and started knocking into briony beside me. only part was not looking forward to getting out and facing the massive head spin (seriously wondering how that's going to affect my swim to bike transition timing).
now back to exam prep!!!!! ):
first lake swim ever and was looking forward to it because i absolutely hate the saltiness from the seawater from past experiences...which was in 2008's inter school aquathlon and those few days of training in mallorca.. was pre-warned that it would be dark and murky but i'd rather that than salty but clear water to be honest!
a small comfortable group from the tri club went - (4 girls only and about 12 guys).. i did a big loop (~ 1k) and a small loop (~500m) and another 2 'floating at imaginary start line' race-starts with Briony who was about my pace, so we had a buddy-system going on in that unfamiliar ground. it was all good but the water was a bit too cold (much colder than mallorca!) at 13.6 degrees. peeing in the wetsuit helps and that's a top tip i'd recommend (gross but it WORKS), and tip number 2 is to get slap some body glide (GET YOUR OWN) or loads of oil on to get your wet suit out easily. tip 2 was the reason why my bodyglide was used up today lol (no one brought except me and sam and the tube wasn't very big to begin with, hence.......). and tip number 3 is.. 2 swim caps is better than 1! but may cause tightness of the head...(make sure the top hate is bright enough to get spotted!). my personal tip number 4 is knowing what nutrition works for you. emerged from the water with head spinning like fuck and i eventually puked out my self-concocted mocha after the bumpy bus ride worsened my motion sickness. EWWWWWW.
anyway so yes.. happy with open water swimming... sighting was pretty accurate other than a few blips where i lost my concentration and started knocking into briony beside me. only part was not looking forward to getting out and facing the massive head spin (seriously wondering how that's going to affect my swim to bike transition timing).
now back to exam prep!!!!! ):
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(no subject)
May. 17th, 2012 | 06:25 pm
ok so first day of revision has started and progress is slow.... maybe i have been tired from writing up my coursework immediately after handing in my dissertation... excuses :/
the temper trap concert yesterday was fab though :) and at such a decent price too! hearing sweet disposition live is just so unreal!
post-exam plans have been going on quite well...haha. i may go for a 180k ride 2 days after exams end, then.... bunting session with my very first british girl-friend, 4 days in scotland climbing ben nevis and glen coe, watch sam do his ironman at notts and being his support crew, heading to london to catch metric perform, swimming the henley mile challenge at the historic river + camping the night before with 2 other girls from the tri club, 2 weeks in Africa, then watching the olympic kayaking finals! exciting times but really have got to focus on revision for 3 weeks now... sigh.....................
the temper trap concert yesterday was fab though :) and at such a decent price too! hearing sweet disposition live is just so unreal!
post-exam plans have been going on quite well...haha. i may go for a 180k ride 2 days after exams end, then.... bunting session with my very first british girl-friend, 4 days in scotland climbing ben nevis and glen coe, watch sam do his ironman at notts and being his support crew, heading to london to catch metric perform, swimming the henley mile challenge at the historic river + camping the night before with 2 other girls from the tri club, 2 weeks in Africa, then watching the olympic kayaking finals! exciting times but really have got to focus on revision for 3 weeks now... sigh.....................
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(no subject)
May. 15th, 2012 | 08:38 pm
seriously... people who add you as a friend on facebook just to ask for a favour such as "can i stay at your place for a night because i will get kicked out of my place by _____ and i don't have a place to stay..." so as to save a little bit of money is pathetic.
i barely know you and you want to stay at my place for a night?!! you kid me not.. how could anyone be comfortable doing that! my place is not a homeless shelter. i should not even have bothered replying your facebook msg nor add you as a friend in the first place... in fact i am going to remove you from my friends list now...
*ANNOYED*
i barely know you and you want to stay at my place for a night?!! you kid me not.. how could anyone be comfortable doing that! my place is not a homeless shelter. i should not even have bothered replying your facebook msg nor add you as a friend in the first place... in fact i am going to remove you from my friends list now...
*ANNOYED*
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drama rama
May. 10th, 2012 | 11:16 pm
spent an epic night at the computer lab - my friend took two hours to proof-read it, said i'm definitely getting a first (not sure whether he was telling the truth or trying to be nice). then i spent the next 2 hours ironing out minor stuff, making sure everything's PERFECT. (having said that, i'm not going to re-read anything again because I know the OCD in me will emerge and I will find something stupid to edit, THEN I WILL HAVE TO REPRINT!!) anyway, then i tried to get it printed and the printer charged me colour pricing when i clearly clicked on mono printing. that costs me £10.80 for 2 fucking copies. and I was really pissed. (first thing tomorrow after i hand in my binded dissertation is to send a complain e-mail and get a refund!!!) then i tried to burn docs into my CD but somehow that didn't quite happen (since when was i so tech-unsavvy?!!) and my CD was not rewritable. that meant i had to wake up early tomorow to get a few CDs from the student union to get it sorted. THANK GOD i decided to call my friend whose place I was going to walk pass anyway while going home AND HE HAD A BOX OF EMPTY CDS AND DVDS which he offered me for free. THANK GOD. that really made my day so much better and the night wasn't as cold as i thought even though i only had 1 jacket on.
Lesson learnt:
1) Dissertation is not over until you personally hand in your documents to your supervisor. Tech-related shit can ALWAYS happen in between.
2) Shit can happen, but try and look on the bright side!
Lesson learnt:
1) Dissertation is not over until you personally hand in your documents to your supervisor. Tech-related shit can ALWAYS happen in between.
2) Shit can happen, but try and look on the bright side!
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dissertation
May. 9th, 2012 | 12:00 am
after 7 days in the chemistry department analysing creatine kinase for up to 40 hours, i am finally done with the bloods for good! although as usual, it was boring as hell, repeating steps 1-5 a gazillion times until i can almost do it in my sleep, while the chatter of the second year chemistry students in the same lab served as some sort of background music.
when i returned to my department, i thanked the lab technician whom i've borrowed lab goggles from and said, that will the last time i will be borrowing it! and he congratulated me for finally being done with my work. (i think if my department had a visitor counter my name would be top 10 off that list!). then i discussed my CK results with my supervisor immediately after and he was very satisfied with the graph (no, we didn't manipulate the results, unlike what people would do when they had shit results), and said he would definitely find more participants and get more funding for the same study because it's "dead interesting". That has got to be the best feedback so far :) Enough to keep me happy even if I may not do as well writing up the stupid dissertation. Heh.
Deadline's up in about 48 hours and I'm cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also signed up for Brighton marathon next year 14th April 2013 and my project mate has kindly offered me to stay at her place!!! =)
when i returned to my department, i thanked the lab technician whom i've borrowed lab goggles from and said, that will the last time i will be borrowing it! and he congratulated me for finally being done with my work. (i think if my department had a visitor counter my name would be top 10 off that list!). then i discussed my CK results with my supervisor immediately after and he was very satisfied with the graph (no, we didn't manipulate the results, unlike what people would do when they had shit results), and said he would definitely find more participants and get more funding for the same study because it's "dead interesting". That has got to be the best feedback so far :) Enough to keep me happy even if I may not do as well writing up the stupid dissertation. Heh.
Deadline's up in about 48 hours and I'm cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also signed up for Brighton marathon next year 14th April 2013 and my project mate has kindly offered me to stay at her place!!! =)
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first race done :)
May. 8th, 2012 | 12:49 am
would have wanted to post a lengthy race report.. but honestly cannot be bothered to do so right now.. today was a bank holiday and i slacked it off entirely.. feeling pretty guilty right now which is not a good thing.. from tomorrow onwards, i will be exactly one month away from my exams and it's time to buck up and start the final stretch of revision!!!
completed my first sprint yesterday and am pretty chuffed about it although there's heaps more room for improvement! at least the fact that my entire lower body is aching right now does the timing some justice...
750m swim: 12:47 (think the person may have made me swim an extra 50m....)
T1: 2:08
25 k bike: 59:49
T2: 1:56
5k run: 28:36
T: 1:45:17
massive thanks to loughborough triathlon club for giving me so much training opportunities and providing such a supportive and encouraging environment. I even managed to nab the first ever athlete of the month award, which is a bit of a cheap thrill, but made me smile nonetheless! :)
may now consider the possibility of doing the olympic distance at nottingham's holme pierrepont on 27th may because it's a great venue. and the aim would simply be completion, not timing...
just need stronger legs!!!!
completed my first sprint yesterday and am pretty chuffed about it although there's heaps more room for improvement! at least the fact that my entire lower body is aching right now does the timing some justice...
750m swim: 12:47 (think the person may have made me swim an extra 50m....)
T1: 2:08
25 k bike: 59:49
T2: 1:56
5k run: 28:36
T: 1:45:17
massive thanks to loughborough triathlon club for giving me so much training opportunities and providing such a supportive and encouraging environment. I even managed to nab the first ever athlete of the month award, which is a bit of a cheap thrill, but made me smile nonetheless! :)
may now consider the possibility of doing the olympic distance at nottingham's holme pierrepont on 27th may because it's a great venue. and the aim would simply be completion, not timing...
just need stronger legs!!!!
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halfway maybe a bit less
May. 2nd, 2012 | 09:59 pm
today is only wednesday yet i already feel like it's the end of the week.
each day starts at 8, and have continual events lasting until late evening or worse.
take today for example.
9-11am: lecture
11-12: swim training
12-1: rush home, cooked 2 days worth of meals
1-530: chemistry lab creatine kinase analysis
530-630: help friend do a favour
7-815: run training
815 to 9+: cool down stretches, foam roller, bathe, dinner, wash dishes.
9+: finish up my coursework.
tomorrow:
8-230: chemistry lab
2-4: run errands, eat lunch, power nap.
4-5: lecture
515-645: bike ride, practice transition
645-8: bathe, dinner, wash dishes
8 onwards: revision
although i could have used the time to type this entry to do more productive work, typing in fact is a form of de-stressing. i don't need people to acknowledge this entry. i just need my own acknowledgement. and to remind myself how much i've done in a day. that i need to press on. i feel knackered both physically and mentally at the end of every day that has passed since the week started, falling asleep within 5 minutes of my head touching the pillow, and waking up barely realizing 7 hours had since passed. but i think i should just take it that life is not easy. that other people have it worse.. that working life is worse.. that PhD students are facing stress 100x beyond what i am doing.. that i need to appreciate my undergraduate academia + training life while i can because it's stress at its lowest level.... that some people don't even get to attend university and here i am thinking how pathetic my life is?!! i should be grateful instead!!!
even if my dissertation is taking up SO much time that even i've lost count of the hours invested, it's merely school. i am not poor, nor starving like "the kids in Africa" (quote annoying friend who is indifferent to my situation), nor homeless. even if i flunk my dissertation, i won't feel bad, because i've already put in all the effort i possibly can, commit to it as much as i can, and there's nothing i would change if i had to do it twice.
i cannot change the situation that i am in, but i can make myself feel better about it by being optimistic, take one day at a time, and just do everything to the best of my ability.
